Martial Ascent to Divinity

Zhou Leng knew he was about to be exposed. He let go of the orc corpse, dashed forward, and punched fiercely towards the next orc's back, releasing a surge of True Qi.

Bang!

The back of that orc caved in, his body falling forward, crashing onto the orc ahead of him. Blood gurgled from his mouth, and his body trembled as if cramping.

"Enemy attack!"

The remaining four orcs who could move erupted into chaos, speeding up their run while looking back.

Zhou Leng surged forward, slapping his palm towards the rearmost orc.

The orc, in a hurry, swung a fist to strike Zhou Leng's palm.

Orcs naturally have thick skin and rough bones, and he was in the mid-stage of Body Refinement. Even seriously injured, he could withstand a normal strike from Zhou Leng.

When the fist and palm met, his body momentarily paused.

"So weak..."

The thought had just arisen when Zhou Leng unleashed a second similar palm strike.

The orc, already dismissive, raised his fist again to meet it.

Killing Move, Thousand Tides Pouring into the Sea.

Zhou Leng's right arm pushed forward, True Qi instantly filled his sleeve.

Boom...

The whole passage seemed to be engulfed by a great tide, with surging True Qi bursting from the sleeve, wind whistling.

Crack...

The orc's already injured right arm was severed at the shoulder, flying off.

Blood splattered from the shoulder wound.

"Ah..." The orc, maddened by pain, wildly swung his left hand towards Zhou Leng.

In a passage made for dwarves, it was extremely narrow for orcs; the three orcs in front could only watch without getting involved.

"Ignore him, let's go! This human is weird," the remaining three orcs, carrying the unconscious demigod offspring, ran quickly.

"They betrayed you," Zhou Leng taunted the one-armed orc in imperfect orcish while retreating.

"Roar..."

The one-armed orc went berserk but couldn't touch Zhou Leng, running madly and colliding with his companions.

One companion kicked his head and turned to flee.

Zhou Leng stepped forward, adding a kick, killing him, and continued the pursuit.

As he was about to catch up, the last orc suddenly turned around, slightly hunched, abandoning the giant axe unsuited for the narrow passage, and attacked Zhou Leng bare-handed.

This orc, over two meters tall and much bigger than Zhou Leng, had bulging muscles, with arms thicker than Zhou Leng's thighs.

He was in the late stage of Body Refining, and despite being seriously injured by a little elf earlier and having gone through battles, his might was not diminished, each punch and kick carried significant power, fierce as a tiger.

Zhou Leng observed carefully. Unlike human martial arts, the orc's moves were straightforward, using the same few strikes back and forth.

But the orc had long reach, great strength, high speed, and animal instinct in combat.

In a place where body and step techniques couldn't be performed, the orc held a significant advantage.

Zhou Leng intended to compare their strengths, found an opportunity, and unleashed Great River Entering the Sea, meeting the orc's direct punch.

When the fist and palm collided, the orc's body shook, stepping back half a step, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

The surface of his fingers was bloodied, but the bones remained intact.

Zhou Leng stepped back four or five steps, his arm numb, Qi Blood surging.

"What great power, Anger Blood slightly inferior to Qi Blood, but orc bodies are far stronger than human ones..."

Zhou Leng assessed that even with the opponent seriously injured, being struck could likely cause bone fractures, so he fought while retreating, avoiding direct confrontation.

"You go, I'll stop him."

The last two orcs, carrying the demigod offspring's body, ran further away.

Zhou Leng abandoned the notion of a quick victory, engaging the severely injured late-stage Body Refining orc in the dimly lit vine tunnel.

He was cautious, not greedy, only attacking the orc's wounded areas.

A minute passed, two minutes...

Three minutes, four minutes...

After seven minutes of fighting, the orc suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with organ fragments.

The accumulated injuries inflicted by Zhou Leng erupted entirely.

His face turned grey, legs buckled, kneeling on the ground.

Zhou Leng kicked him on the side of the head.

Puff...

The orc's head twisted, spraying blood mist from his mouth, crashing into the wall.

Zhou Leng rushed forward, punching twice at the orc's neck, breaking the neck bones.

"Huh..."

Zhou Leng gently shook off his sore and numb arm, carefully checking his body.

Only lightly brushed by a few punches, not taking a full hit, yet still bruised.

This was despite having True Qi for protection.

A late-stage Body Refining orc was indeed ferocious.

Zhou Leng continued the pursuit, stopping at the edge of the passageway and cave junction, not rushing into the cave.

He saw inside the cave ahead, a group of three-meter-tall Earth Giants cornering two orcs, punching furiously.

The two late-stage Body Refining orcs kept consuming various Blood Bones to enhance themselves, their bodies swelling, looking maniacal, hacking at the Earth Giants.

After a full quarter-hour, over twenty Earth Giant bodies crumbled.

The two orcs, covered in blood, collapsed on the ground.

Zhou Leng charged out.

The two orcs roared madly, getting up to fight desperately.

But after only a dozen moves, they were killed by Zhou Leng.

Zhou Leng quickly rushed to the demigod orc offspring, smashing his heart with a punch, placing the Witchcraft Skin to absorb blood, coagulating a Demigod Blood Essence.

He pocketed the Witchcraft Skin and gathered the spoils of battle.

The beast skin bags carried by the other beastmen contained only ordinary items, and even the blood bones were almost gone.

The demigod descendant not only had a medium-sized Magic Spirit Bag, which was several times more valuable than mine, but it was also as big as Liang Baiyin's.

Inside, there were quite a few blood bones, Human Race pills, magic potions, and some map notes.

One of the blood bones, Zhou Leng grabbed it immediately upon seeing it.

Magic Spirit Bags cannot enter other Magic Spirit Bags, so Zhou Leng first made a simple inventory and then switched to a better medium-sized Magic Spirit Bag.

Zhou Leng held that blood bone, placed the other known consumable pills, magic potions, and blood bones in front of him, and fell into contemplation.

Without looking at anything else, just looking at these pills, one could tell this beastman was extraordinary, holding a higher status than the demigod descendant killed last time.

This guy had not only 10 Replenishing Essence Pills but also 15 Strengthening Body Pills.

Just these 25 pills are worth 4 million.

Not to mention those precious magic potions and blood bones.

Among those blood bones, Zhou Leng recognized only two types that were useful to him.

One type is the "Divine Marrow Blood Bone," which he had consumed on the Celestial Tier Battlefield before, and there were three of them here.

The other was what Zhou Leng held in his hand.

A blood bone a hundred times more valuable and extremely rare compared to the Divine Marrow Blood Bone, the Dragon Marrow Blood Bone.

Zhou Leng examined it carefully, his heartbeat slightly quickening.

This is a highly renowned and valuable medicinal substance in the Ten Realms.

The Dragon Marrow Blood Bone is refined by extracting the marrow of the Dragon Race and the bloodlines of the beastman demigod descendants, smelted into one.

Although its use cannot compare to the blood marvelous body after a dragon's blood baptism, it greatly enhances the capabilities of marrow and blood.

It's akin to having one-tenth of the power of a blood marvelous body.

Using this blood bone, receiving a dragon's blood baptism later will enhance the effect of the Giant Dragon Blood Marvelous Body.

The most suitable time for humans to consume it is during the Blood Transporting Period.

Because during this period, human stimulation of blood and marrow is most intense, with the next best being the Innate Realm.

Currently, it is the late stage of the Blood Transporting Period.

Zhou Leng thought for a moment; consuming it now might be risky, but if he doesn't, encountering powerful beastmen, the Trup consortium, or people like Lou Fei Qiong next might result in his death here.

However, this beastman's identity is too important.

Zhou Leng first dragged the beastman's corpse back through the passageway he came from, then poured the Corpse-Dissolving Potion over it.

Returning to the cave, he found a secluded spot to sit.

Taking a deep breath, he broke the Dragon Marrow Blood Bone and put it in his mouth.

The intense bloody taste was like blazing fire, burning downward from the mouth, all the way to the stomach.

Afterward, the flame burned throughout his body.

Zhou Leng focused on meditating, utilizing the Sea Suppressing Technique, contemplating the Sea Suppression Map.

Inside his body, Qi Blood surged, one red and one blue, rushing wildly.

The medicinal power of the Dragon Marrow Blood Bone completely dissolved, like raging fire, enveloping the entire body.

His skin turned crimson, as if he were in flames.

Gradually, a peculiar sulfurous scent flowed from his blood, seeping through the pores and dispersing outward.

Wisps of white vapor drifted away.

The aura of the Giant Dragon scorched the body.

A month ago, Zhou Leng or any ordinary person in the late stage of the Blood Transporting Period wouldn't withstand the dragon aura for more than three minutes before being ignited, turning into charcoal.

But Zhou Leng had gone through the Red Lotus Fire Purgatory.

And not just once, but seven times.

The firepower of Red Lotus Fire Purgatory was indeed not strong at first, but its nature far surpassed the dragon aura.

The dragon aura rampaged in the body, yet it couldn't help the Zhou Leng tempered by the Red Lotus Fire Purgatory.

Zhou Leng was wholly immersed in cultivation.

A troop of humans emerged from the passage and entered this hall.

"Hmm? Someone's cultivating."

"Seems like it's Zhou Leng, who is alongside Zhang Xinglie."

"Alone."

Twelve humans and one dwarf, all bloodied.

They all looked toward their leader, Lou Fei Qiong.

Lou Fei Qiong, dressed in camouflage, with short black hair, a straight nose, not as sharply featured as Zhang Xinglie but undeniably handsome.

"Zhao Le, what's your opinion?" Lou Fei Qiong gazed at Zhou Leng amidst the smoke.

Zhao Le glanced at Zhou Leng, frowned for a long while, and sighed.

"From a personal and team perspective, I suggest being ruthless. But from the perspective of a Divine Rune Master, I hope he survives. He might be the only one in Human Race history who can pronounce divine texts, and if he dies here, humanity's divine text...no, even the progress of Martial Arts might slow down."

"That's not all. Do you remember the three-dimensional divine text full shape?"

Everyone gently shook their heads.

Zhao Le continued, "Because I couldn't pronounce it, I didn't remember it. If he can master the full shape of the divine text, it means he not only pioneered divine text phonetics but also divine text morphology. To be exact, with divine text phonetics and morphology, divine textology would finally have its basic framework. He has the chance to become the sole founder of divine textology."

Everyone was startled, realizing the immense value of the divine text classroom.

"How is this person usually? I'm not too familiar," Lou Fei Qiong asked.

Zhao Le recalled several interactions, saying, "This person is probably like Zhang Xinglie, unwilling to join our team. But he's courteous in speech and action. Anyone who can be friends with Zhang Xinglie can't be too bad. You see, he's been cultivating almost continuously, much like Zhang Xinglie, probably both extreme martial artists."

Lou Fei Qiong looked at Zhou Leng, lightly sighed, and said, "Since he benefits all of humanity and was framed by the Trup consortium, I can't harm him."

A middle-aged man, about fifty, said, "Young Master Lou, after all, it was their team's dwarf who shouted recklessly, causing us to lose several dwarf assistants..."

Lou Fei Qiong raised his hand to stop him, saying, "I said I'm sick and tired of you older generation's internal strife and external tolerance. In the family, I have to listen to your elders, but outside, I call the shots."

"Understood!" The middle-aged man stepped back.

Zhao Le sincerely praised, "Young Master Lou, you truly have a generous mind."

Lou Fei Qiong gave a self-deprecating smile, saying, "What generosity..."

I've just seen too much disgusting stuff and don't want to do the same things."